A group of Venice Beach surfers came to the rescue of a baby great white shark that had washed ashore near the Venice Pier on Saturday morning. A fisherman had realized that a shark had hooked onto his line. He and several other fishermen ran down to the beach to pull the shark from the water.

To most people meeting Frank ‘n Louie for the first time he looks like any ordinary cat. “They initially walk up with the look of ‘oh what a beautiful cat’ and then as he turns I see the look of horror come across their face.”

A deformed puppy rescued from a garbage bag has finally learnt to walk. Little Harper was saved from a certain death when a woman in Sanford, Florida, saw a man selling pit-bull puppies outside a Save-A-Lot holding a squirming trash bag. When she asked him what was in the bag he at first refused to show her but he finally handed over the bag containing a puppy so deformed it couldn’t walk or hold up its head.

My real name is Berry, Shadowberry, and I am now 10 human years old. Many dog years ago I played the part of Padfoot in a big film that was watched by many people all around the world (or so my Dad told me). I haven’t seen it personally but apparently I looked pretty mean in it sometimes.

In a victory for dogs and cats everywhere, pet stores in Toronto will no longer be able to sell dogs and cats, as the Toronto city council voted to crack down “puppy mills” that have been supplying the dogs and cats to these stores. The city council in Toronto voted this week to close a loophole that made it possible for the unlawful puppy mill breeders to sell the animals they raise through local pet stores. Good for Toronto! Now if we can only get cities in the United States to follow suit!

Does it make sense to design homes to cater to the enjoyment of cat and dog pet owners? Several design firms are grabbing the pet-friendly home idea by the tail and running with it. The demand is there, at least in Japan, claims Fauna Plus DeSIGN and its director, Keiji Hirose, a firm known for designing a custom home for 16 cats. The heart of the home features a cat-climbing tree that serves as a spiral staircase leading up to a catwalk on the second floor of the unit.